


Bats Protect Their Own

by FaithWarrior



Series: The Bug in the Belfry [5]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Bad Parent Gabriel Agreste, Caring Batfamily (DCU), Families of Choice, Family Fluff, Gen, Protective Siblings, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:54:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26304481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaithWarrior/pseuds/FaithWarrior
Summary: For Bio!Dad Bruce Wayne Month 2020, Day 5: Overprotection.Waynes protect their own, and Adrien is surprised to discover that somehow this definition somehow includes him. Meeting the Waynes was certainly an experience.This is a continuation of Days 2 and 3.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Batfamily Members & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Bruce Wayne
Series: The Bug in the Belfry [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1905886
Comments: 20
Kudos: 525
Collections: Maribat Bio!Dad Bruce Wayne Month





	Bats Protect Their Own

**Author's Note:**

> This one will be interesting. Warning it is very long because inspiration took off running. Literally spent almost a day on this. Don't expect every prompt to be this long, my fingers can't handle it.

Adrien wasn’t quite sure what to make of the Wayne family. They were at turns professional and composed or chaotic and uncoordinated. Without argument they were the most competent group of individuals that he had ever encountered, but the majority of them couldn't think of entering a kitchen without something catching on fire. They were an enigma wrapped inside of a mystery and stamped with a warning against the faint of heart.

Plagg loved them on principle. Their domestic chaos and the dark pasts made the tiny cat kwami feel right at home. And somehow the Waynes were still filled with joy and laughter. The siblings were constantly ‘sparing’ (rough housing) with each other in some ongoing game of semi violent tag. Yelling and insults and playful jabs filled Adrien’s time in the presence of the younger Waynes. Magically all of the noise kept the loneliness that had been Adriens constant at bay in their presence. And all of the members made at least a token effort to get to know Adrien more personally.

Still it was a momentary transition for the entire family to transition to stoic professionals by some nonverbal signal. Minutes after Bruce Wayne, who Adrien now knew to be Batman, entered the suite the atmosphere changed. There were of course several minutes of greetings and conversation that seemed to be a veiled transmission of information, but then the family was all business. 

Marinette shuffled Adrien along with her family deeper into the suite. The comforting hand in his was appreciated as Adrien absorbed the abrupt change. All of the Waynes demeanor had shifted. Their base personalities were still distinguishable to his observation, but Adrien had also become more tuned to people's personalities and emotional states as a hero. These werent the Wayne’s anymore, they were the batfamily without their masks. It was kinda terrifying, but also awe inspiring.

The room they entered resembled the war rooms Adrien had seen in TV shows and movies. A fully equipped and secured meeting room stocked with high tech computers and communications arrays. Somehow Bruce Wayne had assembled a military grade mission control during his stay in Paris. 

The man in question moves to the head of the table and the rest of the vigilanties make their way seamlessly to the rest of the seats. Damian takes up his father's right side and Dick the left. Marinette pulls him into the seats next to Damian and nudges him into sitting. Adrien is sure there is some sort of subconscious ranking system among the siblings as the rest take their seats. Tim sits next to Dick in front of the large keyboard set out on the table. Cass sits on the other side of Tim, and Jason brings up Adriens other side. Duke takes up the seat next to Cass closest to the door and sets up a hidden monitor showing the bat Adrien has come to realize is the family's unofficial emblem. 

“Thank you for getting the call started Duke.” Bruce states as the mentioned young man finishes prepping the screen to show two girls in masks.

“Wow B no invite.” One of the girls starts. Her blond hair flipped over her shoulder barely missing the person next to her. “I have to find out from the Sirens, am I not trustworthy.” 

Many of the people in the room laugh.

“Steph, Your name is literally Spoiler.” Tim states dryly.

“Irrelevant.” The girl claims in a manner that reminds Adrien of Chloe. “I am hurt B.”

Bruce sighs. “Moving on Spoiler.” The man huffs. “I would like to actually be able to plan my wedding without worrying about Selina dragging me out of Paris unfinished.”

This seems to trigger an official start to the meeting, and Adrien braces himself.

***

Walking into the mission room felt like coming home. It was different from what Marinette remembered of the few times she sat in on a family briefing, but the atmosphere was familiar. She sat herself next to her twin closer to the head of the table than she had ever sat before. Seating layouts shuffled based on involvement and tasks, and this time the mission was Marinettes to lead. Robin sat at the Batman's right hand almost exclusively when a new person was introduced, a habit built from posturing in front of the members of the Justice League applied to the presence of a new player in the family. For this Ladybug took her seat next to Robin as mission expert with her partner. Nightwing and Red Robin on the Bats left to play good cop and spymaster for the meeting. Signal guarding the door and connecting to the cave, Black Bat watching the new player, and Red Hood poised to take down the unfamiliar element. 

It was a system built up over the years by the family to defend itself and present a united front. Her family may trust her judgment of Adrien but they were still Bats, and they wouldn't drop all their walls without reason. Marinette respected that even if it annoyed her a bit. Her family was overprotective for a reason. 

She listened to Stephanie bickering as the line connected and watched Adrien settle at the more laid back exchange. Her boyfriend and partner was certainly tense and Marinette thanked whoever tipped Steph off before the meeting.

Tim caught her eye and gave her a nod. 

Marinette smiled at him gratefully. Her brothers could be really awesome sometimes. As her father shifted into truly starting the meeting Marinette straightened up.

“Ladybug, Chat Noir any new information?” Bruce asked directly.

“The Akuma attacks have been fairly standard. One every two or three days with a second more advanced attack thrown in about once a week, sometimes fairly quickly after a weaker akuma.” Marinette recited clearly.

Tim nodded and pulled up a chart on the larger screens in the room. “These show the akuma attacks over the course of the last year. I’ve included your assessment of the difficulty and type in the chart. In a separate file you can all see the list of repeat akumas and the victims motivation.” He pulls up another slide. 

“What about correlations to the suspects schedule?” Damian asks.

Adrien stiffens next to her and Marinette grabs his hand under the table. 

Tim eyes Marinette briefly before she gives him a nod. “I have created a calendar of all recorded akuma attacks including times and locations which are compared on a separate map. I have then overlaid the known schedule of Gabriel Agreste throughout the last year. The only time the man was out of the house at the start of an attack was backwarder.”

“We were on the train.” Adrien interrupts. Everyone stops and practically holds their breath. Marinette soothes her thumb across the back of his hand. “He went to the bathroom before I did, and came out just as I returned from the fight.” Adrien’s explanation is jotted down by Tim.

“Thank you Adrien.” Dick says quietly. 

Tim coughs. “Um, Gabriel has also been akumatised and has at several points been the target of an akumas wrath.” He looked at Marinette. “Ladybug and I discussed this before. Have you drawn any conclusions?” 

Marinette sat up. “According to the Kwami’s it is possible for the butterfly to be used on the holder of the miraculous if they temporarily renounce their power after summoning an akuma. The power would be limited and weak which fits with what we faced with the collector.” She squeezed Adriens hand. “Additionally he has been put only in minor jeopardy during attacks, and very rarely been seen even when he is the target. The times he has appeared we believe were intended to throw off our investigation.” 

“Thank you Ladybug.” Batman spoke up. “Our next step is to figure out our plan of attack. We need to know what is below the manor.” 

Adrien's confident voice spoke up. “I can do it.” 

Marinette stared at him with wide eyes. “Absolutely not. He’ll catch you Kitty.” 

“I can use the tiger again.” Adrien argued. 

“Invisible doesn't mean incorporial Adrien.” Marinette stated in frustration. “If that elevator activates and Gabriel is notified he will catch you.” She took his hands in hers. “He will hurt you Adrien.”

Marinette watched as Adrien prepared another argument.

“Knock it off.” A harsh voice proclaimed. Jason was glaring at both of them with hard eyes. “You paying attention?” 

He waited for both of them to nod.

“Good.” Jason gestured around the room. “You two aren’t running a cowboy opp anymore. There is a team here to back you up so you don't have to take risks like the one blondie just proposed.” 

Adrien still looked like he wanted to argue and Marinette prepared for her brother to finish his point. 

“Kid.” Jason addressed. “We get you live there, but that isn't just something you can use. Living there is also a risk to you, one that we don’t need to make worse.” Jason was understanding, one of the more empathetic Bats despite his rough exterior. “You run in there blind and we might not be able to get to you. It's happened before, sometimes worse than others.” The vigilanties eyes glowed for a second. “I went into a situation without backup, looking for my birth mother, and I died.”

The room felt tense, most remembering the time, or others like it. One voice spoke up. “Knew you smelled like Lazarus, stabby too.” Plagg poked out from Adrien's shirt.

“Plagg?” Adrien said, voice lost.

The kwami turned to his chosen, and Marinette felt Tikki shift out of her hiding place as well. “He’s telling the truth kid.” Plagg looked sympathetically at Jason and then Damian. “Sorry about the side effects, kinda my fault on that one.”

“We can discuss that later, Plagg.” Tikki interrupted. “Nothing too bad to fix.”

The kwami nodded. “Okay Sugarcube.” He flew down to the table to sit next to Tikki. “Continue.” He said dismissively.

Jason looked shocked. Most likely from the revelation that the tiny gods knew something about the circumstances surrounding his resurrection.

Marinette chose to speak up. “Kitty I was raised unconventionally, in a much different way than you were.” The joke fell flat but Adrien chuckled anyway. “But I will share my unconventional family with you, and Bats stick together.” She put her hand on his cheek and smiled at him. “Let us help you. You don’t have to risk yourself or your emotional state for this.”

As the two share the moment Tikki perks up on the table. “Plagg you lazy brain. Why didn't you phase through the walls to see what's down there.”

Plagg looks thoughtful. “Guess I didn’t think of that.” 

Some of her siblings groan and Marinette giggles at them and the resigned look on her father's face.

“Okay, so the kwami are on advanced surveillance of the manor.” Bruce said gesturing for Tim to note that. “What about our damage control prep?” 

Adrien looked confused again but Marinette only smiled viciously. “Already started.” She stated. “Thanks to the boys impromptu media stunt.” 

“Glad we already took care of Lila.” Adrien mentioned. 

“Would have been more entertaining to slaughter the viper though.” Damian said with a scowl.

Marinette elbowed her brother. “Stop شقيق  _ shaqiq _ , I took care of it my way. Less to worry about.” 

“Enough about little D’s thirst for vengeance.” Dick stalled. “What is our next step?” 

***

Marinette and Adrien walked out of the hotel side by side. They were accompanied by Damian and Dick on their way to tour some tourist destinations. 

Or at least that's what it should look like to anyone walking by. Their real goal pulled up in a car next to the sidewalk. The silver town car looked like it was going to drive by before it pulled to a fast stop beside the group of four.

Adrien wanted to be surprised that the Waynes analysis had been correct, but at this point he really couldn't be. When the window rolled down to reveal the stoic face of Nathatie he coaxed his face into a practiced look of mild surprise.

“Adrien, Mille Wayne.” Her features tensed. “Monsieurs Wayne and Grayson.” She said with a brief look to the couples escorts. “Monsieur Agreste would like to invite the Wayne family to dinner at the La Tour d’Argent tomorrow evening. He was unaware Mille Wayne and Adrien were such close friends.” 

Adrien could feel Marinette's amusement at the situation even though all three siblings kept a professional appearance of mild interest. “Mille Sancoeur.” Marinette greeted with a charming smile. “We will relay the invitation to our Father this evening. I will let Adrien know our reply.” She kept the charming smile on as she questioned. “Would it be too much trouble if Adrien joined me for lunch tomorrow? My family seems to have cheerfully foiled our plans for this evening.” 

The severe woman nodded. “I will see to it that Adriens schedule is free for the two of you to make up your engagement.” The woman quickly agreed. “Thank you for your and your family's time Mille Wayne. Adrien I will let your bodyguard know that you will need to be picked up later this evening. Enjoy your outing.” And with that the car pulled away.

Adrien felt his jaw drop. “Wow. I don’t think she’s ever been that nice, even on my birthday.”

“Everyone is nice if you have enough money.” Damian interjected coldly. “And we have more money than most.” 

“ _ Shaqiq _ !” Marinette scolded. “Be nice, we are in public.”

While the twins bickered Dick moved beside Adrien. “We know your family is strict, and apparently evil.” Adrien laughed a little. “But we all come from less than conventional backgrounds. If you need someone who gets it Tim and Steph are a good bet.” He put a hand on his shoulder. “Just keep it in mind.” Dick let the moment sit for a second before clapping his hands together loudly. “Now. Let's go to the Luve and watch Damian complain about the paintings for a few hours before we eat absolute junk for dinner.

Adrien smiled and Marinette cheered as she dragged the boys down the street with an unproportionate show of strength.

***

The next day was interesting. Adrien had gotten home late and been able to avoid his fathers, Gabriels interrogation after his outing with his girlfriend and her brothers. 

Breakfast wasn’t quite as easy. In a display of unusual interest in Adriens day Gabriel was sitting at the dining room table waiting for Adrien to come down for breakfast.

The man had a magazine open and Adrien wanted to laugh at the cover story. It was unsurprisingly about the Waynes impromptu appearance in Paris, and by extension Marinette’s identity. 

“I did not realize.” Gabriel Agreste began as Adrien took his seat and accepted his plate from the cook. “That Mille Dupain Cheng was not who she appeared.” 

Adrien slowly chewed his food. “I was unaware of Marinette’s family prior to yesterday father, I only knew that the Dupain Chengs were not her birth parents.” 

“And why did you not inform me?” Gabriel demanded.

“I did not realize that it mattered father.” He answered with a confused expression of innocence. “Addoption is not all that uncommon and I felt it was not my place to press further into something she trusted me with as a close friend.” Adrien took another bite and resisted the urge to watch his father's face grow brighter. “Marinette did not want people to know any more and I gladly accepted that.”

“You and Mille. Wayne, are close?” Gabriel poked.

The Waynes had coached him on this, and Adrien was thankful for the preparation. It made it easy to dance around his father's aim. “Marinette is one of my dearest friends despite not having much time to spend with her outside of school.” 

Gabriel seemed to growl in frustration, but Adrien skillfully ignored it. “And the invitation? Did the Waynes accept?” 

Ahh to the real point. Adrien thought before swallowing his food. “They were amenable. Mr. Wayne requested I ask if 6pm was too early.”

“6 is fine.” Gabriel waved off dismissively. “I will have Nathalie make the reservations. How many will be coming?” 

Adrien fought off a smirk. “Eight including Monsieur Wayne and Marinette in the Waynes party.” 

Gabriel's eyelid twitched. “Very well I will reserve a table for ten. Be home directly after school to finish your homework and change. You need to be presentable, first impressions are everything.” 

Adrien once again adopted a look of innocent confusion. “But father, I already met them yesterday.”

More eye twitching. “Even so Adrien, you will be presentable for dinner.”

“Yes father, of course.” Adrien conceded gracefully. This really was too much fun. He couldn’t wait to tell Marinette.

***

Marinette didn’t think school could be more irritating than it was during the rein of Lila Rossi. She was apparently wrong. All morning people were coming up to her asking questions and trying to be ‘friendly’. She eventually decided to employ her twins signature glare on the masses. Sunshine of Gotham or not these people needed to give her some damn space.

Adrien could only stand by her side with understanding as the two made their way through classes. Thankfully their friends seemed to be willing to wait out the storm and simply asked them about class work and art and other such nonsense during freetime. Alya was still in a bit of shock and Nino seemed to be helping her through it.

The entire thing made for a long morning before they finally made it to lunch. As soon as the bell rang Marinette was dragging Adrien out the door and across the street to the bakery. Marinette's host family was just about the only people she trusted to not interrupt them, mainly due to the lunch rush. She had expressly forbade her brothers from interrupting their lunch date, but figured a smaller private venue was a better decision.

“Is this really necessary?” Adrien asked her.

Marinette raised her brows at him. “To hide from my brothers, yes. If we pop up on social media they will be on us in less than 10 minutes.” 

“They just want to help.” Adrien smiled.

“Today they can help someone else.” Marinette stated. “We may not be able to have a nice romantic date but we can at least have a little alone time before tonight happens.” 

“Yeah. Tonight.” Adrien replies.

Marinette looks at him in concern. “Are you sure your ready for this? We can take him down without this part.” She didn’t want to pressure him into this just for the mission.

“No, I need this and your family will do it in a way that he can’t get out of.” Adrien stated confidently. “I’ve just never stood up to him like this before. This morning was one thing, but tonight will be completely different.” He took a deep breath. “Plus it will give Trixx, Roarr and Wayzz more time to search the manor.”

She nodded. “Just in case Dad gave me this for you to use tonight.” She handed her partner a fairly standard looking, though expensive, watch. 

“What is it?” Adrien questioned as he looked it over in his hands.

Marinette laughed. “Formally you can say it was a belated birthday gift from me and my family to you as a ‘close friend’.” She pulled him back over and waved at the watch. “Realistically it is a hidden wire so that Oracle can keep an eye on you at the manor and let us know if you need us.” Gesturing at a few key features she continued. “It's a fairly simple set up from our armory and shouldn’t get picked up as anything but a fairly prestigious gift. It has audio and limited visual capabilities, it runs to a private satellite and won’t show up on the manors wifi network.” Marinette explained.

“And the inscription on the back?” Adrien smiled.

She smirked. The watch said, ‘ _ For my best friend Adrien. You are everything I never knew I wanted, and what I always needed. _ ’ It was a heartfelt sentiment. “That is for you, or for if you want to give Gabriel a coronary before dinner.” Her smile was met with Adriens adoring gaze. “This is also an early one month anniversary and one year as partners gift. Your first Batfamily communication device.” She wrapped the watch around her partner's wrist and fastened it. “Welcome to the family Adrien. We protect our own.”

“I love it Princess.” He replied with a soft smile. “And the WE logo on it is definitely going to make Gabriel blow a gasket.”

“Just marking my territory Kitty.” Marinette replied charmingly.

“Thought that was supposed to be my job.” Adrien joked back. “I’m going to need to step up my game to keep up with you, MiLady.”

“You do that Chaton, but for now lets finish our lunch so we aren’t late for class.” She said as she started moving to get things out for lunch.

“Sounds good Bugaboo.” Adrien spoke over her shoulder as she began preparing their food. Always the curious Kitty in the kitchen. Marinette had high hopes that he wouldn't be as helpless as the majority of her family when it came to cooking.

***

It was odd for Adrien to not be the one targeted by the media when out in public. But he was again confronted with that situation on their way back from lunch as several ‘reporters’ (tabloids) tried to get Marinette's attention as they walked to the school.

“Miss Wayne, are you planning on staying in Paris now that your parentage is known?”

“Miss Wayne, what is your relationship with Adrien Agreste?”

“Miss Wayne.”

“No comment.” Marinette told each of them.

“Mr Agreste, are you in a romantic relationship with Miss Wayne?” The reporters then tried.

Adrien channeled his father's cold demeanor in a way he seldomly preferred to do and stared down the reporters until they let both of them pass. 

Once they were clear he felt Marinette's soft hand gently press on his arm. He turned to her. “You didn’t have to do that Adrien.” She whispered.

Adrien smiled. She knew he hated acting like his father. “I have to stand up to them Mari. And that is the only way I know how to.” 

His girlfriend's face changed into an expression of determination. “I’m putting Media handling on the list of things for my family to teach you. You shouldn't have to do something you hate to get the results you want. There are other ways to deal with paparazzi and reporters.” As she finished Adrien smiled.

“I hope you aren’t including me with those vultures outside.” A wry voice interrupted from off to the side.

Marinette's face brightened. “Alya!” She said cheerfully. 

“Hey girl, sorry about this morning, and yesterday.” Their friend said softly as she approached them. Nino was absent but Adrien was sure he wouldn't be very far behind his girlfriend.

The two girls talked, exchanging apologies and then hugs before the group moved towards class. Adrien felt even more settled by the time Nino joined them. Like the calm before the storm, he thought as they entered the classroom.

***

The day went by quickly and before Adrien was ready he had to leave Marinette and let the Gorilla escort him home. Thankfully he was left alone for several hours to do his course work and was able to catch up on his assignments from the day before. He also mentally reviewed the features that Marinette had told him about in the watch and admired the appearance.

The watch vaguely resembled the appearance of his miraculous with the way the metal was shaped around the face. It was made out of a silver mate metal that Adrien was certain was more durable than a standard watch. The standard number of buttons were hidden within the sides of the watch housing and granted it a slim and sophisticated look. It was subtle enough to wear everyday, but stylish enough for high class occasions. 

The holographic etching on the glass casing proclaimed the watch as a Wayne Enterprises product while still maintaining the unobtrusive personality of the device. The silver linkage of the watch band held even more secrets Adrien was sure, but all Marinette told him so far was that the watch wouldn’t come off without his permission, or hers currently. 

Marinette told him the watch would track his vitals and send data back to the bat cave if their was an emergency. For this evening Oracle would be listening in to ensure Adriens safety while the rest of the Waynes were preparing themselves for dinner. His girlfriend had expressed concern that Adrien might find the device suffocating, but Adrien only felt secure with the watch on. 

It was different than Nathalie and Gabriel monitoring his phone and social media. The watch was a gift given for the express purpose of ensuring Adrien was safe. It might only have one way communication but Marinette had hinted at that being because the watch was half of a matched set like what most of the family held. She also stated that coms were earned in stages, mainly to get used to them. There would be no need to speak into the watch or keep track of multiple conversations for this mission. Overall the device made him feel safe, protected, looked after. Marinette's family was putting a lot into making Adrien feel welcome, and it was very much appreciated.

Adrien picked up the sound of footsteps outside his room. He tucked the watch partially under his sleeve and returned to his homework before his father entered the room. “Good afternoon father.” He greeted Gabriel after turning to face him. “I have not quite finished my assignments. I should be able to do the last problem later before we depart for dinner.”

Gabriel moved to Adrien's closet dismissively. Most likely to pick out a ‘suitable’ outfit for the evening. “I noticed that you spent your lunch hour with Mille Wayne.” The man commented without preamble.

Adrien turned quickly to his workbook and marked down the shorthand for the last question. He would have to write a more detailed answer but it would do for a stalling tactic. “Yes father. I was thankful Nathalie rearranged my schedule since our plans were disrupted yesterday.”

The designer continued to riffle through Adrien's overabundance of clothes. “What is your relationship with Mille Wayne?”

Adrien put on a face of mild curiosity and gently fiddled with the watch to activate the audio transmitter like Marinette had shown him. “We have been close friends for quite a while now father. Practically since I first started attending school.”

Gabriel pulled out several articles of clothing and began laying them out on Adriens bed. “And currently? The media seems to think there's something more going on.” The man truly did not know subtlety.

Adrien moved to touch the watch face a little more obviously, like he was caressing an important gift or memento. “You have forbade me from dating, father.” He spoke as Gabriel finally turned to actually look at Adrien. “And truly you are the one who taught me that the media is full of fiction and lies.” Was he poking the bear? Probably.

“It would be beneficial if you were to deepen your relationship with Mille Wayne.” Gabriel mentioned aggressively. Obviously the potential of a connection with the illustrious Wayne family was quite the feather to put in his hat.

Adrien abruptly took his hand away from the watch, as if to hide its presence. A trick Cassandra had hinted at the night before. “And if that is how both of us feel I will, but that will be up to the discretion of Marinette.” He could now see his father's eyes drawn to the new accessory on his wrist, and the bold declaration of the logo on the watch face.

“So you do fancy her?” Gabriel concluded as predicted. “And you already have her favor?”

“Don’t you know me well enough to answer that father?” Adrien answered with the slightest amount of bitterness. “Marinette is a true friend, and I care very much for her.” He kept his voice filled with the confidence he felt in his love for his partner, but let a bit of uncertainty slip in. No need for Gabriel to know that their bond was strong enough that even he couldn’t damage it. 

Gabriel moved closer aggressively and Adrien took solace in the invisible presence of Plagg and Oracle through the watch. “Show me that watch.” He demanded as he grabbed Adriens wrist. 

Adrien let his arm be moved with years of practice being different peoples posable figurine. “It was a late birthday gift from Marinette and her family.” A bit of pride filled his voice at the thought of the new family he was being welcomed into. Just enough fondness to ruffle Gabriel about his ignorance. “It even has an inscription. Such a thoughtful gift from a good friend.” Watching his father's face transition through shades of red was endlessly entertaining.

“Stop this insolence right this instant Adrien. You like the girl, you will date her.” Apparently Gabriel had hit his limit with Adriens intentional display of obtuse innocence. At least it kept him from asking about the inscription, not that he would confiscate the gift before a meeting with the people who gave it. “This is not a recommendation, it is a requirement. That girl would bring in significant connections and talent to the brand.” Adrien wanted to bristle and hiss at the man's insensitive and cold words but held it in.

With a calm facade Adrien answered his father cooly and with fake respect. “And I appreciate your approval, but I will still leave it up to her.” 

“Why you…” Gabriel sputtered.

“I need to finish getting ready, father. I will meet you downstairs when it is time to leave. Thank you for taking the time to talk with me.” Adrien interrupted. His suit for the evening was now laid out on the bed and left no reason for Gabriel to stay in his room.

“This discussion is not over.” Gabriel growled as he left the room. The door slammed on his way out.

Adrien waited a moment before letting out a breath of relief. “Well that was fun.” He said sarcastically. He then proceeded to mechanically put on the suit laid out on the bed.

Apparently his father was going for a lighter appearance with a dark edge for the evening. Most likely to offset the Wayne’s known taste for dark ensambles. A dark gray suit with dark and light blue striping on the jacket and matching pants. Dark blue dress shirt with matching buttons. The light blue tie had a faint pattern of hidden butterflies in darker blue embroidery. The cufflinks were the Gabriel signature butterfly in light blue to match. 

Adrien sighed, apparently Gabriel really was avoiding subtlety. He felt nauseous wearing the themed accessories but put them on anyway, better to bend now than for Gabriel to become suspicious. He did his hair and light cosmetics before deciding that it was good enough to pass muster.

Once he was done he opened his window slightly to let in the patiently waiting Trixx, Roarr and Wayzz. The kwami’s had graciously waited for Adrien to signal that he was ready so they wouldn't distract him. They were being kept active by some of the Waynes for the evening so as to not put too much strain on Adrien or Marinette.

“Thanks for waiting guys. I have to head downstairs so good luck and try not to let the staff see you.” Adrien told the trio quietly before having Plagg hide in his jacket as they went to meet his father. 

The drive to the restaurant was tense and silent. Which for once Adrien appreciated. Confronting his father earlier had been quite stressful, and the familiar silence let him regain some of his composure.

***

Marinette paced the hotel suite as she waited for Oracle’s update. Adrien had activated the watch thankfully after Marinette had finished getting ready. So Marinette was pacing in front of Tim as her brother reviewed her homework to make sure she hadn’t missed anything in her hurry to finish it.

“What if Gabriel figures it out?” Marinette asked as she walked back and forth barefoot. “What if it's too much for Adrien? Gabriel is so cold.” She moved her arms around as she fretted.

“Bean.” Tim interrupted. “Adrien can do this. Oracle is keeping an eye on him and so are the kwamis.” He moved in front of her to interrupt her pacing. “Take a deep breath with me Bean. Good. Now let it out.” He walked her through the exercise a few times. “Your boy is going to be fine. You need to be sure that you can help him through dinner.” 

Marinette nodded. “You’re right, thanks Timmy.” She grinned sheepishly at her brother. “How do I look?” She twirled on the balls of her feet.

Tim looked her over critically. “Like a true Wayne.” He teased with a smile.

A sharp whistle came from the door. “Replacement’s understating things Pixie.” Jason said. “You're a knockout tonight little sis.” 

Marinette blushed at her brother's praise. “Feels kinda weird to wear an extra earring.” She said, changing the topic as she fingered the cuff earring and chain ensemble she’d had Lucius design to fit around her miraculous. 

“Your first real coms Nettiebug.” The cheerful voice of Dick commented. “No magic involved for this one.” 

She smiled proudly. He was right. It felt good to wear the bat, hidden though it may be on the small exterior of the cuff. The delicate chains coming down to hook around her miraculous before dangling below her earlobe added a sophistication the the usually plain adornments without drawing attention to the miraculous itself. Sure it had taken another piercing, but she had been thinking about that anyway.

“Oracle sent the signal. Finish getting ready. The Agrestes are heading towards the restaurant.” Bruce said as he entered the room. Everyone spurred into action for last minute touches and equipment checks.

“Here أخت  _ 'ukht _ .” Damian said, handing her a set of hair sticks. “Thought these might be useful.” 

Marinette smiled softly as she accepted them. “Like mothers.” She murmured as she examined the ornate yet sturdy pair. “Thank you  _ shaqiq _ , they are beautiful.” The weapons were elegant and hidden once her brother skillfully inserted them into her hair. It was a bittersweet acceptance of their harsh beginnings. 

“Of course  _ 'ukht _ . I wanted to ensure you had a more subtle protection.” Damian stated as he slid his own daggers into their hidden sheaths. 

“All right, time to go.” Bruce clapped as he interrupted everyone.

“Yes, fashionably late is a tight schedule to keep.” Jason mocked as Duke pushed him towards the door.

***

Marinette was satisfied with the seating arrangement. They had arrived just after Gabriel and Adrien with the perfect excuse to separate father and son at the table. Adrien had quietly excused himself to the bathroom upon arrival, and timed his return with the Waynes being escorted to the table. 

With a bit of skillful navigation Gabriel ended up seated between Bruce and Tim, ‘so they could discuss business’. Adrien was maneuvered into the seat between Marinette and Damian while the rest of the family filled in the seats around the table. When they finished Adrien was not next to or directly across from Gabriel in his seat at the table. Marinette would have laughed if it were at all appropriate.

“How?” Adrien whispered in her ear. 

Marinette set her hand on his wrist just next to his watch. “We’re Wayne’s.” She said by way of explanation. In the seat next to her Cass snickered a little under her breath.

The meal started calmly if stiff. The business men were discussing shareholders and business meetings and other such boring topics as the first course was passed around. They knew Gabriel would dip into his true intentions sooner or later. All they had to do was wait him out.  
“It appears our children are quite fond of each other.” Gabriel eventually stated. 

Bingo, the table thought as they continued to carry on simple conversations so the man wouldn’t notice the attention on him. It was a neat party trick the family developed, to have entirely pointless yet cohesive side conversations as they listened in on others nearby.

“Yes. I am glad Marinette has made such good friends during her time in Paris.” Bruce answered with practiced care. “It can be difficult for my children to find friends who won’t use their relationship to get close to our family.” He continued, throwing out the barb behind layers of disappointment.

“I have had concerns with Adrien about similar occurrences.” Gabriel stated in reply. “Perhaps it was a boon for both of us that our children met.” 

Ahh, the mutual struggle approach. Marinette caught Tims eye and conveyed her amusement over the man's overdone tactics. Too obvious and heavy handed.

“More of a blessing for the children I believe. True friendships are difficult to come by in our circles.” Bruce answered casually. “Far to many sharks in the water.”

“I worry about what will happen when Adrien starts, branching out.” Gabriel transitions. 

Marinette can see her twins hand move down to comfort Adrien. Both Damian and herself knew where this conversation was headed. It is what would have been their path if they had stayed with the League. Married off for power or influence, but expected to maintain unwavering loyalty to their families name and purpose.

For his part Bruce put on a look of delicate confusion. This was the part of the game with the most layers. He simply hums at the other man's statement, waiting for him to continue and dig his own grave.

“I try to protect my son as closely as I can, but matters of the heart are so much more volatile.” Gabriel seems to spit the last word in disgust. He misses the raised eyebrows Bruce responds with briefly. “It might make for a mutually beneficial arrangement if the children were to, transform, their closeness into something with more permanent stability. A merger if you would.” 

All of the Waynes were now filled with varying degrees of disgust or derision. They expected this, but they didn’t realise Gabriel would be so open about what he thinks is the appropriate way of things. Agreste was new money piggybacking off of the old family connections of his wife, the Grahame de Vanily name belonged to the old families. Gabriel had the position, but none of the knowledge that came with being part of an old money family. Marriage arrangements and betrothals, while usually made when the participants were much younger, were done in private. At their age Marinette and Adrien might be present for the discussions, but they would not be held in so public a venue, or with an entire family sat against the others mere two. 

She saw Damian cringe at the impropriety, and the implication. If her twin wasn't fingering his daggers, Marinette would swallow Plagg’s Camenbert. Marinette put her hand on Adriens under the table for comfort. They both knew this was part of the game, but it still hurt that his father would so blatantly ignore Adriens own wishes. 

“Gabriel.” Bruce started informally, as if to bring to light the inappropriate nature of the other man's ‘request’. “While I too support Marinette's choice of companion it is inappropriate to push the two faster than they are comfortable with.” He placed his napkin beside his plate to take a sip of his wine. “If Adrien and Marinette decide to move forward in their courtship then that is entirely up to the two of them. Although I am glad that you support their relationship as well considering I feared that you would be against it.” 

As planned Gabriel was now in a state of confusion and shock as he tried to process the turn of the conversation. While the man was speechless Bruce pressed his advantage. Marinette smiled behind her glass.

“When Marinette told me that she and Adrien were staying in the early stages of courting I was surprised.” Bruce said with a tone of innocent conversationalism. “It is after all a rather outdated practice compared to dating or ‘going out’ as the kids say.” Staged groans came from some of the Wayne children. “I assumed that they were following your guidelines that Adrien not enter into a serious relationship.” The man shrugged. “A bit restrictive, but I understand a father's protective instincts.” 

Gabriel seemed to compose himself. “Yes, well I was unaware of your daughter's identity.” And the nature of her relationship with Adrien. Marinette tacked onto his statement mentally. The man was oblivious until it was useful to him.

The next contribution comes from Tim, causing Gabriel to have to turn to face the younger man. “Well yes, but my sister's talent and personality speak much louder than her family name. After all Monsieur Agreste, you yourself had more humble beginnings.” The sputtering the elder man gives at that is priceless. The Drake family was not the oldest of money but they went back a good few generations. Enough to give credence and weight to the young CEOs words. 

“That is true Monsieur Drake. However I was unaware of the interest between the two.” Gabriel replied covering his ass.

Jason pitched in his two cents. “You have an interesting conception of how the upper class handles their children.” The large man twirls his steak knife across his knuckles. “But you know, pulling a child out of school repeatedly is generally frowned upon.”

“In our social circles isolation can get pretty ingrained pretty quickly. Especially when children are expected to show off their family's status.” Dick added with an easy smile.

“And working from dawn to dusk, now I shouldn't be one to talk, can generally be harmful to the physical and mental health of a youth. At least I graduated and became a legal adult before I started voluntarily working those types of hours.” Tim pleasantly continued. 

“But of course you only have your son’s best interests in mind Monsieur Agreste.” Damian stated dryly. “Just like we have my sisters best interests in mind.” 

Marinette wanted to laugh at the stunned look of fear and anger on Gabriel Agrestes face as the server returned with the next round of plates. It entertained her to see how her family could tear the cold man apart so easily. Adrien sat beside her quietly as they both maintained expressions of cold disinterest. 

“Monsieur Agreste.” Marinette addressed once the server had left. With the man's attention she continued. “I hope you keep in mind the etiquette of things such as this. Relationships are personal, even when business is involved.” 

Her twin picks up for her. “Such arrangements are appropriately handled with far more decorum and privacy than a public restaurant.” 

Tim spoke up from beside Gabriel causing the man to jerk in surprise. “Any child of high society knows these unspoken rules. It is simply a part of our existence. Your late wife would have known this.” He continued to eat calmly even as he fixed Gabriel with a cold stare. “Such things are especially important with the changing of the times. With a modern family such as ours arrangements are better handled by the individuals involved, with support from the family.” 

Marinette could see Gabriel gulp as he got the message. Interfere again and your status will drop like a rock. It was quite satisfying.

***

Adrien could not believe what he had just witnessed. The Waynes had torn Gabriel Agreste apart at his designer seams. Politely and efficiently making sure that the man feared crossing the powerful family.

He could tell Marinette was barely holding in her amusement throughout dinner. And when Gabriel got up to pay the bill, since it had been his invitation, she left with Cassandra for the bathrooms. Left with only the Wayne men Adrien felt a tension that he had yet to feel in the presence of any of the family. 

He gulped. The tension was mainly coming from the brothers, as Bruce and even Duke seemed to just be along for the ride in this case. 

Damian was the first to speak. “ _ 'ukht _ cares about you very much.”

“And in this family we stick together.” Dick stated.

“So we will protect you as one of our own.” Duke stated, apparently not as uninvolved as he appeared.

“But if you hurt her.” Jason growled menacingly. “If you make her cry.”

“Bat’s don’t kill.” Bruce interrupted to receive glares from a few of his sons.

“But there are things worse than death.” Came the statement from Tim. 

“And we’ll let  _ 'ukht _ get in the first shots.” Damian said ominously.

Moments later Marinette and Cassandra reappeared. Marinette was immediately drawn into a side conversation by one of her brothers. Still in shock Adrien almost didn’t notice Cassandra turn to address him.

“Welcome to Family.” Cass said with a dangerous smile. Adrien was pretty sure that was more terrifying than the boys thinly veiled threats. He was coming to realize the Wayne family was extremely overprotective.

**Author's Note:**

> AN: This one was fun, if long, to write. I included a little bit of a theory from the old show ‘birds of prey’ that the Bats can hide coms inside jewelry. I also had Damian and Marinette call each other ‘brother and sister’ in Arabic. I figure that having more formal nicknames for each other would be something they might be able to get away with in the League of Assassins.


End file.
